Electric flatiron and attachment therefor



April 10, 1934. s, KUNO 1,954,594

ELECTRIC FLATIRON AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed June 23, 1933 A721; chiyara ffiwz a.

Patented Apr. 10, 1934 o irso STATES PATENT OFFlCE 'Shichigoro Kuno, Ogden, Utah Application June 23, 1933, Serial No. 677,260

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in flatirons and has reference more particularly to an 1attachment for use with fiatirons of the electric .ype.

Flatirons heated by electricity are well known and in common use wherever electricity is available. As a rule an ordinary flatiron is of comparatively small dimensions and designed with reference to general household use and therefore is not well adapted where a large amount of flat goods such as sheets and pillow cases are to be ironed, as the area of the smooth surface that comes in contact with the cloth is so small that it requires a larger amount of labor than absolutely necessary to iron a large piece of cloth.

It is the object of this invention to produce an attachment that can be applied to an ordinary electric flatiron and by means of which the area of the under surface can be increased, thereby increasing the amount of cloth that is smooth ened at each stroke of the iron.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fiatiron with a roller on which part of the pressure is exerted whereby the iron will move more easily over the goods and whereby the weight or pressure exerted is more efiectively and efficient- 1y applied, thereby speeding the ironing opera-. tion and reducing the actual amount of work expended per unit of surface ironed.

This invention, briefly described, consists of a body portion which may be anordinary electrically heated iron and to which two brackets are attached, one on each side. These brackets project rearwardly and between the rear ends of the brackets a cylindrical roller is mounted for rotation about its central In addition to the roller, a shell or attachment is provided which is so constructed that it will receive the body of the flatiron in such a way as to form an attachment having a larger under surface than the iron. The under surface of the shell is polished and forms a smooth surface for coming in contact with the goods that are being ironed. The roller is so located that the lower portion of its periphery will extend a short distance below the plane of the under surface of the attachment in such a way that when suflicient pressure is ap plied to the iron the brackets will flex so as to bring the under surface into contact with the goods worked upon. It is, of course, customary to have soft pads between the supporting surface and the material to be ironed and this permits the roller to press itself into the surface, thereby limiting the fiexure of the brackets to a very small amount.

Having thus briefly described the invention, the same will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which it has been illustrated, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an electric iron showing the shell or attachment in section;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the improved iron showing the roller and the shell in place thereon;

Fig. 4is a perspective view of the shell showing the same removed from the flatiron;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the shell showing the shape of the latter when made from east material; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing the flatiron with the shell attached, resting on an unyielding plane surface.

In the drawing reference numeral 1 designates the body of the fiatiron and 2 the handle. The handle is secured to the body by means of suitable brackets 3 and a socket 4 is provided for reception of the plug connected with an electric conductor. Since the Flatiron is of the usual construction, the heat coils and the wiring have not been indicated. Fig. 2 shows a cross section of the iron and of the shell and from this it will be seen that the iron is hollow and located within the hollow space are the heat coils, thermostatic switch and other apparatus which are present in an ordinary electric iron. Secured to the sides of the body member are brackets 5 which have been shown as held in place by means of screws 6. These brackets extend a short distance to the rear of the iron and are provided with openings 7 for the reception of the trunnions 8 that are secured to the roller 9. The roller is preferably cylindrical and is so positioned that the plane of the under surface of the iron will intersect it along a chord as shown most clearly in Fig. 1. In order to increase the area of the ironing surface the body 1 of the iron is inserted into an opening in a shell. This shell has been shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 as formed from suitable sheet metal such as steel or aluminum. The shell has a bottom 10 on the upper surface of which the iron rests and the under surface of this bottom is polished and adapted to come in contact with the cloth for smoothing the same. Secured to the edges of the bottom is a wall member 11 which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly at the top and upwardly and inwardly at the sides. The wall is so dimensioned and positioned that when the iron is inserted, the upper edge of the wall will rest against the sides of the iron, as shown in Fig. 2. The side wall and the bottom of the shell may be attached in any suitable way, but in the drawing they have been shown as attached by means of a flange connection. The brackets 5 are provided with upwardly extending ears 12 that have openings for the reception of a hinge pin 13. A detent 14 is pivoted to the hinge pin in such a Way that it can be turned upwardly as indicated in Fig. 1 or downwardly as indicated in Fig. 2. The wall 11 is provided with a notch 15 on each side which notches are so positioned that when the shell is in place, the detents 1 1 can be turned down into the notches and will serve to hold the shell against accidental removal. Since the area of the bottom 10 is larger than the area of the under side of the iron, the capacity of the iron per unit movement is increased in the same proportion as the areas of the under surfaces. In Fig. 5, a slightly modified form of shell has been shown in which, instead of employing sheet metal in its construction, the whole shell is formed from a casting. This casting may be aluminum or steel as may be found most desirable.

In Fig. 6 the iron has been shown as supported on an unyielding surface 16 and from this figure it will be seen that the roller 9 is so positioned that when the assembly rests on an unyielding surface only, the roller and the front end of the iron will contact with the surface. When pressure is applied to the iron, however, the brackets 5 will flex somewhat and at the same time the roller will press down the supporting surface of the ironing pad so as to bring the under surface of the bottom plate 10 into engagement with the cloth that is being ironed.

In Fig. 4, the shell itself has been shown in perspective as it appears when detached from the body of the fiatiron.

It will appear from the above description that by means of the two simple attachments an ordinary electric flatiron can be readily converted so as to make it suitable for use in places where a large amount of flat work is to be ironed as for example in hand laundries.

The roller permits the iron to move more easily than it would otherwise and at the same time the roller can be used for smoothening the cloth preparatory to the ironing operation and it also serves as a means for supporting the iron when not in use as it can be tilted so as to rest on the roller and on the rear end of the handle 2 when not in use, and this dispenses with the necessity of a support that must otherwise be provided.

In the form illustrated, the parts have been shown in the forms of attachments for an ordinary flatiron, but it is evident that the roller can be connected to supporting brackets formed integral with the body of the iron and the removable shell can also be formed in the factory and sold with the ordinary iron, thereby making it possible to buy for the price of one iron, a combination of parts that makes it possible to quickly convert the iron from one limited in its use to small jobs such as the ordinary household wash, to an iron that is adapted for use in laundries and wherever an amount of goods is to be ironed that is greater than the usual domestic wash.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A flatiron provided with a smooth under surface for smoothing cloth, a cylindrical roller rigidly and revolvably attached to the flatiron and located to the rear thereof, the plane of the smooth surface extended intersecting the cylinder along a chord.

2. A flatiron provided with a smooth under surface for smoothing cloth, a bracket extending rearwardly from each side of the iron and rigidly attached thereto, and a cylindrical roller located to the rear of the iron between the brackets and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the plane of the under surface, the roller being so located that the plane of the under surface of the iron when extended intersects the roller along a chord.

3. A fiatiron provided with a smooth under surface for smoothing cloth, a resilient, flexible bracket extending rearwardly from each side of the iron and rigidly attached thereto, and a cylindrical roller located between the brackets and mounted for rotation about an axis located to the rear of the iron and parallel to the plane of the under surface, the roller being so located that the plane of the under surface of the iron when extended intersects the roller along a chord.

4. A fiatiron comprising, in combination, a body portion having a smooth under surface, the front end being narrower than the rear, a flexible bracket of resilient material secured to each side a of the body portion and extending to the rear thereof, a cylindrical roller located between the brackets and mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the plane of the under surface, a shell removably attached to the body portion, the shell having a smooth under surface, which is parallel with the corresponding surface of the body, the roller being so located with respect to the under surface of the shell that the plane of the latter intersects the roller along a chord.

SHICHIGORO KUNO. 

